Unchained Love
by AmandaFaye
Summary: GAMM crossover with Everlastin' Lannie and Beth rent a cottage in Schooner Bay....


Unchained Love

Amanda

_Note, Beth, the Muirs, Schooner Bay - ites, Daniel, (Blast it) or Lannie (B again) do not belong to me. However, should the authors tire of them, Lannie and Daniel have a home haunting me. _

_Takes place post series and before Book Five in the Baird Legacy series._

_Note: Lachlan Baird was murdered by his unfaithful wife and her lover over two hundred years ago. His ghost haunted Baird House until he saw a picture of Beth Staples and fell in love. Knowing her death was near, he tricked her into coming to Scotland, to Baird house and dying in his arms. Ghosts in the series can corporealize. The strength of their love let them come back to life and have twins, but only after Lannie made peace with his reincarnated ex and her reincarnated lover. They also live with the local fairies (as in wings, not slash). Tabloids have driven the newly-alive ghosts out of Scotland, temporarily. Other characters referred to: Roan - the reincarnation of Lannie's killer; Laura - Lannie's former wife reincarnated. Delilah, the fairy princess who helped bring Lannie back to life Winston, her husband Blue, The Fairy Queen._

_Note on words: Hauld yer Wheesht - Lannie's favorite cuss word = hold your peace, be quiet: fegs = fags, cigarettes, another cuss word_

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"Madam, you know how I feel about stowaways on my ship, " Daniel Gregg fumed. 

Patiently, Carolyn looked up from her writing. "I know. If Jonathon or Candy would come home from Europe, then maybe we could fix this, but Claymore's son – "

"How that lily-livered sea rat ever procreated -" the ghost began muttering.

"It had nothing to do with his liver, " Carolyn half smiled.

"Madam, your language!" the Captain thundered, shocked into forgetting his tangent.

"Clayton won't allow the Cottage to sit still and make no money, and the kids can't afford to buy it from him at his price!" Caroline reminded. "Maybe if someone hadn't helped Candy - Candace's love life with a foreigner — ? So she would move to England, and then her brother visits and falls in love — "

The Captain saw it was a no-win situation, and settled on exclaiming "Blast!" setting off a thunder burst before fading out.

Mrs. Muir-Gregg just shook her head. Truth be known, she did not like it either, but what could she do?

*******************************

Beth smiled as her husband, still looking faintly green steadied himself as they left the plane. He glared back at the airship. "I willna be getting on one of those beasties again," he muttered.

"So, we're in America to stay?"

Lachlan Baird frowned. "When we return to Scotland, we'll take a ship — a sea ship," he amended hastily.

Beth just hid her smile. "Let's get the rental."

Lannie shook his head. What had happened to horses? And to the air. He thought he'd choke to death from all the fumes in the air. Maybe moving to America was not the best idea.

Forty-five minutes later, they had left Boston and were nearly to Gull Cottage. Beth was glowing, feeling at home again, looking forward to showing her husband and the twins, (okay, they were babies and wouldn't appreciate it much) her native land.

Lannie rolled down the window. The air was clearer out here, easier to breathe. Pretty, in an odd way it was. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. 

Beth caught his attention, gesturing ahead to a house on the bluff. "Look , there's Gull Cottage. Our new home."

"Ye canna call a leased house a home," he argued.

"Home is where you and the twins are," she reminded him.

Having no way to counter that, Lannie held his peace. But he was not through. "Looks better than I expected. That Gregg fella is a wormy sort. I didna trust him. Damn Sassenach."

"We're the Sassenachs here."

"Still, it's not Baird House," Lannie went on dogmatically.

"What is?"

Lachlan frowned, trying to decide if he'd won the argument. Deciding he might have, he settled down, shifting the twins to a more comfortable position.

No sooner had he, than Beth stopped the car. "Let's get the kids inside and then we can come back and unload."

Knowing he did not have his car legs , Beth rescued the babies. Lannie took a moment before following her.

Thunder crashed. "Odd that," he muttered. "Unnatural."

Beth glanced back. "You are one to know."

"Hauld yer Wheesht!" he burst out, feeling better. It'd been too long since he said it.

Above, on the widow's-walk, Carolyn and the Captain looked down. "Sweet couple," she noted.

"They have babies" Daniel fumed. "That means crying, nurseries, diapers…"

"They are cute" Mrs. Muir said. "Shh."

A cloud gathered. "Thunder makes babies cry," she noted mildly.

It vanished.

As the Baird family entered, Lachlan froze. "There's ghosts here," he whispered.

Beth shivered. "Yes, I feel it — them."

_But, they should know — Beth and Lachlan, until recently, had been ghosts themselves._

Lachlan's eyes locked on the Captain's portrait. "There's our ghost, mo chraidh, (my heart.)"

The twins were getting heavy, but Beth did not want to put them down, it might not be a good idea until they had established ground rules. She did not question her husband. He had been a ghost for centuries, whereas she had only been one for months, before fey magic had revived them both.

She glanced around. "Okay, ghosts, whoever you are, come on out. We know you're here."

Silence.

"Maybe it just feels old and spooky," she essayed.

Lachlan shot her a glance. "Beth, I know old and spooky, I was an old spook, and this is not just a creepy feeling."

"Okay, okay. I just thought that since our lives have been so unusual, maybe we were jumping at shadows."

"Na likely."

In a loud voice, he called out, "I am Lachlan Baird, the Laird of Baird House, and now this one. Show yourselves."

A crash of thunder knocked out the lights for a moment, then Captain Gregg and Carolyn stood before the Baird family.

"Sir, I am the Captain of this ship, and I will thank you to remember that."

Lannie looked unimpressed. Beth, however, was. "You could never raise a thunderstorm, Lachlan."

He shrugged. "I donna ken about that, I never particularly wanted to, so I never tried."

Beth and Carolyn found themselves exchanging a glance that said it all, "Men."

Lachlan held his ground, bluffing. "Captain or not, you are a ghost, and I know something about that," Baird continued, unmoved. "You can be noisy and irritating, but you can't scare me, and you can't run me off. I paid good money for this place to stay, and so I shall." He looked around. "Although, the decorator was sadly misguided. But no mind. I built Baird house, and I can put this - place to rights."

Serious thunder crashed. "Lay one hand on this house and you'll be keel-hauled," Daniel roared.

Carolyn laid a calming hand on his arm. "Captain, the babies . . ."

"Tell their father to mind his tongue then," he fumed.

Beth did just that, as she tried to placate her children.

"I think we can come to some kind of agreement, boys, " she suggested. "I mean, Lannie and I were ghosts until recently, so we do understand your situation."

Carolyn looked puzzled. "You were ghosts, but now you're not?"

"Madam, they are obviously mad," the Captain murmured.

"I'm no' lack wit," Lannie countered "I was killed a few centuries ago by my conniving, no count, cuckolding wife — "

"— Who is now a sweet, gentle woman and my best friend, "Beth smiled. "And you like her and her husband too."

"Hauld yer Wheesht, woman."

"And then, a few years ago, Beth came to Scotland and died, in ma arms with the twins in her already. And she tried to move on to Heaven, but there were some mischievous fairies wondering around, and they revived us both. So we're mortal, again."

He said it as if it were simple and common.

A look of sorrow flickered on Daniel Gregg's face. "Would that such were possible."

"But it is," Beth replied.

Carolyn looked at her, "You mean Daniel and I could be — be re-animated?"

"We prefer reborn."

Lachlan sighed. Women. Beth's hopeless romantic nature was sometimes more trouble than it was worth.

"Beth — "

"Lannie, why not?"

"Where will we live if we un-ghost them?"

Carolyn stepped in, "Gull Cottage is large, you could stay here, until something better — " The Captain glared at 'better.' "— More appropriate, comes along."

Daniel considered the pros and cons. "Only if we came to an understanding about the Madeira, and who is Captain of this vessel."

"Scotch is my drink," Lannie noted.

"All right, you can stay."

Beth found a phone, noting with interest it was still a dial type.

"Laura? Hi, yes, Lannie survived the plane. Is Blue there, or Delilah? Oh, Dee's having morning sickness. I didn't think Fairies had that? Blue then." When the Fairy Queen got on the line, Beth described the situation. A few minutes of conversation confused her to the point that Blue cheerfully agreed to dispatch a couple of fey to handle the situation.

Then, Blue added something. "Beth, would you and Lannie consider coming back? Roan's sister is making a pest of herself, and frankly, Lannie is the Laird — he ought to handle it. Not to mention the problems of Laura's parents and that one spook still left here that's not too friendly. Please, come home."

"But the Mirror?"

What Blue said to that was not to be repeated.

As soon as the paperwork could be arranged, two fey came over and set up the necessary ritual. Daniel and Carolyn watched it all in fascination, though the older ghost tried to pretend not to be so interested. He merely instructed that whatever they did, they were not to raise that barnacle-bellied fake Gregg nephew that wasn't his.

Carolyn asked if they could bring Scruffy back, but unfortunately, dogs go to Heaven so fast they cannot not be retrieved.

And so under the light of a full moon, the Captain finally kissed his lady. 

Beth and Lannie looked on with a smile. Fleeing Scotland temporarily had been worth it, to bring together these two souls at last.

The End


End file.
